Almost Easy
by RevyFox
Summary: Modern!AU with a slow start. Soi Fon has earned everything she has now, since the young age of ten. She owes it all to the Shihoin's allowing her to work for them, and Kukaku for taking her under her wing. This is the story of how she got to be where she is, and what she's been through to get there.
1. -Till death do us part-

A/N: Hello all. This is my first fic. I'll be publishing on here. Character personalities are all based on my memory of them. Of course I put a little twist on each of them. I wrote this for myself and honestly have nooo idea where it's going or if I'll even finish it. If you like it then great! If not, oh well :P. Personally I think the first chapter sucks, but I needed to start from somewhere. It gets better, I promise ^.^

I don't own Bleach or any of its characters

-Till death do us part-

Soi Fon has had to work for everything she earned in life. With blood, sweat, and countless hours working her "goddamned ass off", she had managed to survive and make a living in a dog eat dog world.

The Fong family had been a wealthy and heavily involved in politics since the beginning. Of course, politics went hand in hand with the darker side of life, the corrupted always turned to thugs to scare away the competition. She was too young to understand why it had happened, years later all she can do is assume that they had made the wrong people upset.

She doesn't think they expected the crash to be fatal, that cutting their brakes wasn't supposed to cause a three car pileup with a big rig. They didn't plan on six people dying from being crushed by the massive truck. She thinks it was meant to scare them, that they would swerve into a pole trying to stop the car.

But it doesn't matter how it was supposed to happen, because you can't turn back time and fix it all.

Her parents died while she was at home with a babysitter, sleeping like a baby. The next day police came to her house, explaining what had happened to the babysitter. With Soi Fon being six, she couldn't really understand what was going on. She was confused as to why the babysitter gasped, and hugged her, especially since she didn't even know the woman. Or why the tall man dressed in a black police uniform picked her up and carried her to the cop car.

Soi Fon vaguely remembers sitting in a big room, with just a table and two chairs in the middle. An old man was looking at her from across the table, like he pitied her. He said something about a car crash, and finding living kin to take care of her.

She remembers asking why the old man was "sorry for her loss". Her parents had always been away on business while she was growing up. They had been around for the holidays of course, but besides those few and far off days together she barely had a relationship with them. To Soi Fon, they were just people who she knew. That's all. No more, no less.

To this day, she can't remember what the old man had said after that, or how long it took them to find a distant cousin that could take her on. All she knows is at that moment, her life would only get harder and harder from that point on.


	2. -Show 'em what you got-

A/N: So first chapter was just to let us know why Soi Fon is here. This is where things start to get going. Again, no idea what I'm doing. Just going with the floooow.

I don't own Bleach (duuh)

-Show 'em what you got-

Standing at an incredibly short four feet eleven inches, Soi Fon obediently listened to the conversation going on in front of her.

To her left, a slouched old man was standing, leaning on a large cane. On her right, Kukaku, the woman who had adopted her into the family after being orphaned, stood smiling.

The three of them were outside; the sun was beating down on Soi Fon's face, agitating her. She couldn't see why they didn't just go inside the giant mansion, with air conditioning and chairs. No, instead they were standing behind the house, in an open field with the hot summer sun beating down on them.

The first to speak was the old man. He had a strong voice, even and decisive. "Who is this girl?"

Kukaku pat Soi Fon roughly on her shoulder, grinning wide. "Ahh let's just say she's a distant cousin of mine, Soi Fon. She's been under my care for awhile now." Resisting the urge to cut Kukaku's hand off right then and there, Soi Fon bowed with a light "Hello."

The man smiled and let out a hearty laugh. "Soi Fon huh? I didn't know you were related to the Fon family."

"Ahh between you and me gramps, I had to pull a few a strings to get this girl. I wasn't about to let those pompous asses turn her into a little corporate doll, ya'know?"

The man's eyes widened. "So you two aren't related by blood then?"

"Nope. I'm more of a family friend of the late Misses Fon. She made it clear that if anything happened to her or her husband, that Soi ended up in my care. No matter what."

"How noble of you."

Kukaku waved her hand. "Eh. Back to business, old man. This kid has talent I tell ya." She pointed her arm in front, making a gun with her hand. Squinting one eye she aimed towards the man's head and pulled down on the imaginary trigger.

"Bang. Right in the eye, every single time. Ten yards away? Twenty? Thirty? Shit the kid can hit a bird 500 yards away with a fuckin' arrow."

The man hardened his face and frowned. "Arrows? She uses arrows?"

"Oh no no no. I was just sayin', of course she knows how to use a gun just the same."

"How old is she."

"Ten."

"This isn't a daycare Kukaku."

"I never said it was."

"What kind of man would I be, to allow a child into this business? What kind of woman are you to even suggest such a thing?"

"A pretty dumbass man. Gramps, listen to me. I know, trust me, I know how shitty this makes me look, but this kid is a prodigy I tell ya! I'll show you! Look-"

Kukaku pulled a pistol out, that was hidden, somewhere, in her "shorts".

"Now just what are you doing-"

"Take this kid. Show the man what I'm talkin' about."

Soi Fon complied, grabbing the large gun into her small hands. Holding it steady, she searched for a suitable target, a seagull floating in a pond no more than twenty yards away.

Tuning out the old man's voice, which in her opinion was getting quiet annoying; she switched the safety off and squeezed the trigger, letting on the slightest smile. Now this, she enjoyed. Watching the bullet hit the target, instantly killing it with no blood splatter was perfect.

The bird instantly stopped moving, and tipped over. The noise from the shot had caused all the other birds nearby to flee away. All accept the one of course.

Kukaku let out a loud whoop and slapped the man hard in the back. "Woooh, what did I tell you Yamamoto! Look at that! Clean shot. Right through the eye."

Yamamoto stood, looking down at Soi Fon with wide eyes.

"Where did you learn to do that girl?" He asked in a serious tone.

Soi Fon looked up at him, straining her neck to make eye contact. Looking for a moment, she straightened her posture and spoke evenly. "Kaien Shiba."

Yamamoto studied Soi Fon's face for a moment, deep in thought.

"I see. Very well then." Old man Yamamoto turned back towards the large mansion, making his way to the patio while Kukaku stood back with Soi Fon.

"See that kid? The old man likes you."

Soi Fon sighed and shoved the gun back at Kukaku. "No thanks to your babbling. That's for certain."

Kukaku frowned, slipping the pistol back into her shorts. "You know you can be a real bitch sometimes right?"

Soi Fon grinned, "I learn from the best.", and began walking towards the patio as well.

"Damn right you did..." Kukaku grumbled while sauntering back with the other two.


	3. -Omaeda makes an appearance!-

**Yo! I'm glad you guys like it so far. I was kinda tired of seeing Soi Fon being portrayed as some awkward weakling, so I wanted to show her for what she is, a complete badass! I'm sorry about the short chapters; I'll work on making them longer. Also I'll be updating every weekend with one or two chapters each. Constructive criticism would be great too :)**

**Also, this will be slow going. Every few chapters will be important events in Soi Fon's life, leading up to her adult life.**

**_-Partners!?-_**

"Soi Fon, this man will be your partner from now on."

Soi Fon glared at the disgustingly over sized man in front of her. Omaeda was what they called him.

"Man? He seems more of a pig in clothing than a man." she spat.

Omaeda didn't flinch at the comment; he seemed to be too absorbed in his crackers to care.

Yamamoto sighed at the young girls distaste."Miss Fon, must I remind you that an experienced employee must oversee you until you reach the appropriate age? It is the agreement your guardian and I have settled on."

Soi Fon huffed. "Guardian? That woman hardly counts as a guardian!" she spat with just as much disgust when insulting Omaeda. "She spends her free time getting drunk and playing with fireworks."

"If these conditions are not met, then you may as well prepare to wait seven more years. That is if you wish to work with us."

Soi Fon glared at Yamamoto. She was angry. Angry, that she was treated like a baby by everyone in the Gotei 13. She didn't need anyone to babysit her! She may be young, but she can damn well take care of herself. It wasn't as if Kukaku actually did anything other than give her a place to live. Of course she was grateful for it, but the woman could have at least taught her something other than how to make a bomb.

While Soi Fon was busy, mentally cursing everyone who had looked down on her, Yamamoto continued to speak, his voice firm.

"In all honesty, I would rather not have such a young child associated with this type of business..." Soi Fon's heart sank at what he may be suggesting. Noting her drastic change in mood, he continued on. "But in truth, this company needs you. A child as young as you can easily shadow a client without any suspicion of danger."

There it is again. A child. That's all she is to these people. A little kid they can bend to their will.

Soi Fon hardened her face, eyes furrowing and jaw clenching. "But aren't I just a helpless kid? This man is obviously a clear sign that you think I can't handle myself." she spat.

Yamamoto had lost his patience with the girl. "This man is a symbol of our acceptance."Soi Fon shrank back at Yamamoto's harsh tone."His one and only purpose from now on, until you reach seventeen years of age, is to accompany you on every mission, and to ensure that you are not killed."

His voice softened slightly, and took on a softer tone.

"Soi Fon, you are a valuable asset to this company. With the skill you have now at such a young age, it would be foolish to turn you away for being so young. The mere fact that Kukaku brought you to me personally is enough of a reason to keep you with us."

She stood in front of the old man silently, studying his rarely open eyes, searching for a hidden lie. She was waiting for these people to deceive her, to jerk away what very little she already has. She's waiting for them to crush the small amount of trust she has left.

_"The eyes are a window into the mind"_, that's what Kuukaku had said to her, before introducing her to Yamamoto all those weeks ago. She ran the conversation back in her mind.

_"It doesn't matter how good of an actor you are." she whispered, inching her face to Soi Fon's slowly, breath reeking of sake. It was almost intimidating... Until she backed away quickly, nearly puking onto the table separating them. Unfazed, she merely downed another cup of sake, pointing two fingers at her own two eyes. "If you uh... Literally... Yeah. If you literally look long enough into their eyes, you'll see them falter. Their pupils might dilate or twitch ... if only for a moment." She slammed another cup of sake. "BAM! That's when you know kid."_

At the moment she thought the woman to just be a drunken fool. But now, Kukaku just may be useful after all.

And inside Yamamoto's eyes, she saw no lies, only the raw truth. For now.

Soi Fon bowed, and then stood; straightening her back, realizing that she had reacted too harshly without considering the meaning of the old man's decision. "I understand sir. Please excuse my rude behavior."

"I can see why you are so wary of us Soi Fon." he said, understanding of her outright rejection of the idea. "But you must see that this is for the benefit of both you and me."

Immediately she replied, "Yes sir."

Yamamoto sighed, and leaned back into his large wooden chair. The splintering legs creaked under his movement.

"Now leave girl. Omaeda will show you to your new living quarters."

Nodding, Soi Fon turned on her heels and headed towards the entrance, with Omaeda following suit.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door, she was immediately bathed in the cleansing white moonlight. Taking a deep breath, letting the cool air rush into her lungs, and tuning her ears to the silence the night sky brought on, she took a moment to collect herself.

The head of the Gotei 13 had openly expressed their need of her loyalty to the organization. To compensate for the fact that Soi Fon is still only a ten year old girl he had assigned one of his own men to watch over her. Not only that, but he had done so in person.

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of moist chewing. It disgusted her, instantly causing a scowl to form on her previously smooth features.

She spun around, glaring at the source of her disgust. Omaeda.

He stood, oblivious to her piercing gaze, and continued to eat the crackers hidden inside his large sleeve without a care in the world.

Soi Fon grit her teeth and slowly called his name."Omaeda?"

He swallowed the rest of the crackers in his mouth, and looked down at Soi Fon. "Yeah?"

"What is it you're eating there?"

Smiling, he held a cracker out to her."Fried crackers. Want one? They're pretty damn good."

Resisting the urge to outright slap him, she took a deep breath.

"No thanks, but can you come closer please?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice.

Taking heavy steps, he walked closer to her. "Eh? What is it?"

In one quick motion, Soi Fon swung her leg back, hitting Omaeda dead center between his thighs. Crying out in pain he dropped his bag of crackers and knelt down to cover himself. "Why did you do that!"

Stopping herself from bursting out in laughter at the massive man's cry, she walked over to the spilt bag. "Because I don't like the way you chew."

Omaeda groaned."So you kicked me?"

Looking him in the eye, she slowly crushed the crackers with her foot. "Yes."

Omaeda rose back up to his feet, at the same time he was eyeing Soi Fon making sure she wouldn't do anything else.

Quirking her eyebrow, she glared at him. "What?"

"That was rude." He mumbled.

Ignoring him, she looked back towards the empty street."Where's the car?"

Kicking the crushed remains of his favorite fried crackers, Omaeda pointed down the road, towards the oversized black truck. "There."

Soi Fon scoffed at the pitch black Dodge Ram and began walking towards it. "Compensating for something?"

He blushed, although it looked more as if he was struggling to breath to Soi Fon. "What are you talkin' about? A kid like you shouldn't be so mouthy you know, especially around the great Omaeda Marechiyo!" he yelled proudly, pointing his large thumb at his chest.

Ignoring his dramatic show of narcissism, she continued walking down the road, mumbling Omaeda's first name out loud to get a feel for it. "Marechiyo? Chiyo? That sounds too cute… and Marechiyo is just a mouthful… Omaeda, now that just rolls off the tongue like nothing."

After reaching the car that was still locked, she called back to Omaeda, who was slowly making his way towards her. "Open the door!"

Pulling out the remote from inside his large sleeves, he pressed a button that unlocked the car. Soi Fon jumped into the passenger seat, but had to grab onto the handrail because she was too short to just step inside, much to her embarrassment, and slammed the door shut. Soon after, Omaeda entered the car, easily sliding in without a hassle. He looked at Soi Fon and grinned. Huffing, she crossed her arms and shrank into the oversized seat, her face turning a very obvious bright red.

Turning the key, the car roared to life, and Omaeda drove out of the neighborhood towards Soi Fon's new home.


	4. Welcome home!

**Hey guys :) So chapter 4. Here it is! I'm sorry for being so late on updating this one. I've only had time to write stuff late at night since I've been busy with stuff so it look way too long to get this done  
**

-Welcome home!-

The drive didn't take long. Only ten minutes from Yamamoto's grand mansion to the shaggy apartment complex labeled as hanging dog. Not the most appealing name, Soi Fon thought to herself; especially since its located dead center in a place called the Rukongai. Anything other than a cemetery with the name wandering soul city doesn't exactly sound like a safe place to house a kid. Contrary to its unappealing name however, the complex looked fairly well kept. The buildings were all two stories high, painted a dark green that was just beginning to fade from age. Nearly every parking space was filled with not so new and shiny cars. And none of the grass was dying, so that's a good sign. There were a few kids outside, walking with their brothers and sisters or riding bikes back home.

Omaeda didn't say a word the whole drive there.

He drove to the far back of the complex to the buildings that were hidden behind the others. This parking lot was filled with newer looking cars, all clean and well kept. Most of them were black, which she thought was funny since all gangsters tended to have nice black cars in the movies, and these people were fitting into the stereotype so far. He parked into the furthest space away from all the other cars.

She looked up at him a little confused since there were more openings closer to the walkway.

"So no punks hit my car." He said while turning the ignition off and unlocking the doors.

He looked at her. "You'd be surprised at how many of these idiots can't park for shit. Always hitting my car with their door, or bumping into it when parking."He smiled and patted the steering wheel. "That's why I got this beast actually, so it can take a few bumps and scratches and still come out looking as pretty as a penny, just like me."

Soi Fon looked down embarrassed, remembering what she had said earlier. "I'm sorry for insulting you like that earlier mister Omaeda." She had ten minutes of complete silence to go over what she had done earlier, and came to the conclusion that it was stupid and rude and that he's probably going to tell Yamamoto all about it and kick her out before she even really had a chance to show off. Apologizing was her last hope of saving herself.

He squinted at her. "Mister? That makes me sound like some stranger. Just use Omaeda; it makes it sound like your familiar with me."

She stared at him for a moment and nodded. Opening the door, careful not to bump anything, she jumped down onto the street and slammed it shut. Omaeda was standing in front of the truck waiting for her.

"Don't worry about it. If I got upset over a kid stepping on my crackers what would that say about me? Besides," he patted her shoulder and grinned. "now I know what kind of person you are."

Internally, she was grinning and jumping up and down like the kid she is, completely and utterly relieved that he wasn't furious with her. Externally however, she did her best not to show that joy out of embarrassment, and just gave a light smile.

Trailing behind the large man, Soi Fon followed him towards her new home. Yamamoto didn't tell her anything other than the fact that she was moving closer by. She was hoping that she wouldn't have to share the apartment with anyone she didn't know, it would have been awkward and frankly, she doesn't quite like many people. They tend to be irritating, loud, and immature.

"Says the girl who kicked a grown man in the balls for eating weird." She thought to herself, frowning.

They had reached the pale gray door and Omaeda knocked on it.

"Don't you have keys?" she asked confused.

"No." he grunted, leaving her without explanation. They both stood waiting for whoever was shuffling behind the door to unlock it.

Suddenly it swung open to reveal a drunken Kukaku holding a cup of sake.

"Soi! Welcome to our new home!" she yelled grinning widely.

Immediately Soi Fon groaned. In truth, she should have expected Kukaku to be there. Leaving a kid with complete strangers seemed to be a little strange, thinking back on it.

Kukaku frowned and stepped back. "What? Not happy to see your caretaker? I went out of my way to walk all the way here and throw a welcome party y'know!"

Ignoring her, she turned to look up at Omaeda, who was staring at Kukaku's wooden arm.

"You can leave now. I can deal with this."

Blinking, he turned to look back at her and nodded. "Yeah alright. Goodnight."

Sighing, Soi Fon pushed her way inside past Kukaku into the small apartment.

Looking around she saw that the living room doubled as a dining area and was connected to the kitchen. Against the far side wall of the room was an old looking brown couch. On top if it was a bag of Kukaku's clothes, a large white blanket, and a pillow. In the center of the room was a small square table. One large bottle of sake sat on top of it with a stack of cups. Across from the table was a slim flat screen TV, which stood out compared to the rest of the cheap looking furniture. A short hallway laid between the kitchen and living room, which led to the one bedroom, bathroom, and washer and dryer.

All in all, it was nothing special to Soi Fon. It was a drastic improvement from Kukaku's shack however. It wasn't in the middle of nowhere and that's all that really mattered.

"Like it?" Kukaku asked.

"It's small." She sat down on the soft couch, and sunk into it closing her eyes. Kukaku went to sit next to her. They both sat in a comfortable silence.

"So that was Omaeda?"

Soi Fon opened her eyes slowly and turned her head towards Kukaku.

"Yes."

"He kept staring at my arm."

"He was."

"You're lucky I didn't hit him with it."

Soi Fon quirked her eyebrow. "You mean him."

"No you, 'cause you'd have to clean up the blood." Kukaku grinned at her toothily.

Deciding not to respond, she laid her head back and closed her eyes again. As she was drifting off to sleep, Kukaku spoke again.

"Kaien would be proud of you."

She let the words sink in for a moment. Would he? She hadn't done much. In her mind, this was nothing to be proud over. Yes she was the youngest person to have caught Yamamoto's eyes and impress him, but she hadn't actually done anything yet. And she wouldn't be able do anything for years, until she was 17.

Of course, knowing how Kaien was, he would probably make a big deal of the smallest thing. Thinking about it, that's probably why Kukaku tried to throw a "welcome home" party for her, which really ended up just being another reason for Kukaku to get drunk, but she did appreciate the thought.

It had been hard on them when he died. It's already been two years, but Kukaku still drinks like it just happened yesterday. Even before that she still drank almost every day, because that's just how she was, but now it was nearly twice as much.

She remembers that whenever Kaien came back home to visit, he and Kukaku would stay up all night drinking, playing chess. And they would be so loud, laughing and clanging their cups together. Eventually, she would get up out of bed to yell at them for preventing her from sleeping with all the noise, but somehow they always managed to get her to sit down with them. Then she would stay up all night with them. It played out like that every time he came to visit, up until he went to leave again.

But then he died, and instead of staying up all night to drink and have fun, she would just drink. At one point, Soi Fon had grown tired of her alcoholism and made a show of dumping all of Kukaku's sake out into the grass. When she found out, instead of being absolutely livid like Soi Fon was expecting, she hugged her and cried. Not knowing what to do, she just hugged back. She never cries. Not even when he died. To her, Kukaku was the strong one. Nothing affected her like this. Not even his death. When Kukaku pulled away, her eyes were red and stuffy, and had snot running down her reddened nose. She wiped her face with her shirt and looked back at Soi Fon. All she can remember after that was Kukaku saying, "I'm so sorry kid."

She sighed and rubbed her eyes. It was late and she needed sleep.

"I'm going to bed now."

Kukaku mumbled "Okay." and went to reach for more sake.


End file.
